Close Internet Explorer. Your changes will take effect the next time you open Internet Explorer.

Notes

If you close all visible windows, but still get an error message when trying to reset, you might have programs running that are not visible. Restart Windows, open Internet Explorer, and try resetting again.

To back up your home page or home page set before resetting Internet Explorer defaults. If any of the categories fail to reset, it is because Internet Explorer could not access a file or registry setting. This can be caused by insufficient security privileges, files or settings being used by another program, or low memory or high CPU usage. You can either continue to use Internet Explorer without restoring these settings, or restart your computer and try to reset again.

If you are using Internet Explorer on a server and have turned off hardening (stronger security settings for use on servers), reset will go to client level security. You must reinstall hardening if you want the increased security level.